The Last National Icon

Mayor Mattingly invited me to his office Monday morning. Apparently they were almost ready to begin construction on the walking paths around the reservoir south of Sunset Lake, but something came up. An eagle’s nest was spotted near part of the proposed path.

Now, when an eagle’s nest is discovered, the acronyms involved become completely unmanageable quick, fast, and in a hurry. In one of the letters I read, I ran across USFWS, IPAC, T&E, and USACE just on the first page. Eagles, especially Bald Eagles, are taken very seriously.

There are strict rules about what you can and can’t do around eagle’s nests and even though no eagles had actually been seen around this nest, those rules still apply.

One of the caveats of the eagle’s nest restrictions is that if you can prove that the nest has been unoccupied for a set period of time, you can get some relief, and in our case, build the trail.

So, why are we in such a hurry to build the trails? The Eagle nesting season ends in April, and the law says you can do your construction sixty days after they depart the nest. Why not just wait and build the trail in June? Well, as we discussed in the article we linked to above, a great part of the trail is being paid for by grant money. There’s a possibility that we might lose that money if construction is delayed too long.

So, the Mayor asked me to go out there and try to determine if the nest was occupied. Daniel Baxley of the Parks Department was kind enough to take me over to the site and show me where the nest is. It’s huge, maybe three or four feet deep and about four feet across at the top. This isn’t like most nests you’ve seen, made of straw and little twigs, this one included broken limbs that had to be two or three inches thick. I’d have loved to see it being built. I ran back home picked up my equipment and returned to the site.

My first thought was that I would fly the drone over the nest and take some pics and video. This plan was immediately discarded. If the nest was occupied, and possibly even if it wasn’t, I’d be breaking rules, or more likely, laws by flying near it. So, no drone shots. I took a couple of pics of the nest with my phone and left.

At home, when I moved the pics to a larger screen, I got a shock.

Let’s face it. Very few symbols of our nation are sacred anymore. We, as a society, are systematically degrading our national pride. Flags are burned, people kneel for our National Anthem, and no matter who is voted in as President, right at fifty percent of us dislike them before they ever take office.

There is still the Bald Eagle, though. Our national bird with the profile that is so easily recognizable by everyone who’s ever seen the tails side of a quarter. Everyone loves this bird. That profile, that classic profile, was what I saw in my pictures.

I hurried back to the site, phone ready, heart pounding with the hope that I might catch another glimpse of our nation’s most enduring symbol of freedom. If memory serves, Benjamin Franklin thought the turkey should be the national bird. I’m glad he was outvoted on that one.

The eagle was still there, in the nest. I took some pictures with my phone, and just sat there looking at it. Then, as if on cue, it spread its wings and took flight. It was absolutely majestic. Then, almost unbelievably, from a nearby tree another one took off and joined the first one in the air. Bald Eagles mate for life, you know. Turkeys don’t.

I defy anyone to not be awed by this sight. These are not small animals. Their wingspan averages about six and a half feet. Once airborne and up to speed, they would flap their wings three or four times then glide for thirty seconds or more, making slow graceful turns. Their heads made quick, abrupt movements, focusing on one thing then another. They never got much higher than about fifty feet, and they never strayed too far from their nest. The phrase “eagle eye” came to mind. Though they never got very close, I know they must have seen me, but they paid me no mind. Though I know little about their behavior, it seemed as if they were patrolling the area, looking for potential dangers before one would return to the nest and the other would either continue flying or perch close by.

I just sat on the wet ground and watched them for nearly an hour, but eventually, I had to leave – things to do, but I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay out there all day.

So, I’m sorry, and I’m thankful.

I’m sorry I had to leave, and I’m sorry to the Mayor and the hikers/bikers because it looks like at least that part of the trail is on hold for a while. The nest is definitely occupied.

And I’m thankful, so thankful for the opportunity to witness these amazing creatures in the wild. It was a sight I’ll never ever forget.

I’m Benton and American Proud.

By the way, in case you’re getting ideas, the nest is behind a locked and fenced area near the city’s reservoir so please don’t try to find it yourselves. You’ll be subject to all sorts of unpleasant consequences if you do. It’s almost like the perfect storm of places you don’t want to get caught – behind a locked fence, near a City’s water supply, and close to a Bald Eagle’s nest. The number of acronyms that’ll want a piece of you would cover the entire alphabet twice.

The video is short and, except for one lucky shot when they flew my way, taken from a great distance with my phone. It doesn’t come close to doing justice to these beautiful creatures, but it’s worth a look.

I’m lucky enough to hunt on a friend’s farm just below the Lake Greason dam on the Little Missouri River and have been privileged to see many of these magnificent birds, but never one nesting. I’m so envious. Thank you for sharing this.

I saw one circling over my house the other day. I thought I was imagining
it. It was flying high in circles hunting for its next meal. I was stunned. I live north of Benton
near the Sharon Baptist church. All of Benton could have seen it if hey looked up.